Smoker&#39;s filter



United States Patent SMOKEERS FILTER Giuseppe F. Pinsuti, New York, N.Y. :7 Application September 21, 1956, Serial No. 611,251v

" 1 Claim. (Cl. 131-188) This invention relates to filters for tobacco smoke and particularly to that type adapted to be inserted into and removed from a smokers article such as a pipe or cigarette holder. I

Attempts have long been made to remove the harmful ingredients of tobacco smoke such as nicotine and tars, by means of materials of various shapes and kinds such as paper, cotton and the like in the forms of tubes, wads and combinations thereof. Such attempts have not resulted in an entirely satisfactory commercial product largely because of the limited capacities of prior filters, the need for an extraneous or external cover or container for the otherwise loose and unwieldy filtering material, the necessity for frequent replacement when used in pipes or cigarette holders, the difficulties of access to, handling and removing the soiled filter, the relatively high cost of replacements compared to the cost of the tobacco, and the natural repugnance of smokers to handling the used, unclean and sticking filters.

The present invention therefore contemplates the provision of a readily accessible filter easily handled, inserted, replaced and disposed of without materially soiling the fingers, soft and compressible to such a great extent as to fit into the smoke passage of a smokers article of any of the usual diameters and lengths, made of a single piece of absorbent cheap synthetic foam plastic of relatively great bulk but little weight, having numerous voids or cells and thereby presenting filtering walls of great area compared to the area of the external surfaces of the filter and requiring no container or cover, but highly effective in absorbing the liquid and gummy matter resulting from smoking, as well as absorbing and filtering out the harmful nicotine and tars from the tobacco smoke.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a one piece filter of foam polyurethane and wire holding means therefor consisting of a length of bent wire engaging the filter and extending enough beyond the end of the filter to serve as a handle.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a typical pipe to which the invention has been applied, showing the mouthpiece partly withdrawn and the filter inserted partway into the smoke passage of the tobacco holding portion of the pipe.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a cigarette holder showing the filter inserted into the mouthpiece and further showing in dash-dot lines, the operative positions of the end of the filter and of the combined filter handle and cigarette support.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the filter and holder shown in Figs. 1 and 2 wherein the filter holder is of folded spring wire.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view on an enlarged scale of the filter holder of Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View through the middle pf the filter and through the arms of the holder of Fig. 3

2,893,402 Patented July 7, 1959 showing the middle part of the filter compressed and held by and between the arms of the holder.

Fig. 6 is an end elevational view of Fig. 5 showing the uncompressed part of the filter overhanging the arms.

. Fig. 7 is an elevational view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of the partly round and partly flat wire of the spring filter holder.

It should here be understood that the filter itself may be made of various cross sectional shapes and of different lengths for use in various types of smokers articles such as pipes and cigarette holders, but that the filter is so light, fluffy, soft and compressible in all directions that its shape and effective width and length may easily be changed or reduced if needed, as by forcing it with slight pressure into the smoke passage of the smokers article. For best operation howe er, a relatively short filter with a relatively long projecting handle would be used with a pointed end in a cigarette holder as in Fig. 2, and a relatively long filter of greater diameter and with a short projecting handle is preferable for use in pipes as in Fig. 1 (see also Figs. 3 and 5).

In the form of the invention shown, the elongated prismatic filter proper, is made of a soft, light-weight, flufly, absorbent, flexible, resilient, elastic and compressible synthetic foam plastic having a great area of filtering surface compared to the external area thereof. I have found that plastic foam polyurethane is best suited for the filter. The foam of this plastic can .be made as coarse as desired, that is, with large voids or cells, or as fine as desired with many more but smaller voids or cells. It may also be made as soft and compressible, or as stifi and relatively resistant to deformation as required. When supplied in sheets of the required thickness, the sheets are quickly and easily as well as economically cut into low cost one piece square prismatic filters as shown in Figs. 1-3. Such filters as 15 are of generally cellular structure, having thin and somewhat porous internal walls for the numerous cells or voids, on which walls liquids, gums, nicotine and tars are deposited while permitting the fine and cleaned smoke particles to pass through. The filter is preferably made of expanded or foam material which can be easily compressed to occupy ten percent or less of its normal or expanded volume and which has internal filtering walls of an area at least twenty times that of the external area of the surfaces of the filter prism.

As seen in Figs. 3 and 5, no cover or container for the filter is used or required. Hence smoke can be drawn into and through the voids of the filter from the numerous small spaces between the wall of the smoke passage 17 in the pipe 18 (Fig. 1) and the adjacent external surface 19 of the filter, as well as through the end surfaces 20 and 21 thereof to attain an effective filtering action.

The filter holder 22 shown is made of partly round and partly fiat metallic spring wire (Fig. 8) having an inner flat face 23 and an outer opposed rounded face 23a. A length of wire is folded on itself to provide the bend 24 at one end of the holder and to arrange the flat face 23 inside, thereby forming an arm 25 terminating in an outwardly flared portion 26, and a longer arm 27 having a handle portion 29 extending past the flared part 26. The arms 25 and 27 are spaced apart slightly to avoid compressing the filter material too closely. The end of the handle is pointed as shown at 28 (Fig. 2) when the filter is used for a cigarette holder 30, so that the point may enter the cigarette 31 and aid in holding and supporting the cigarette in the holder. The filter 15 and its holder are inserted into the usual sleeve 33 of the mouthpiece with the handle 29 projecting therefrom. To mount the filter on its holder 22, the end portion of the filter is drawn into the space 32 (Fig. 4) between the arms 25 and 27 and passed into the bight of said arms which are urged toward each other by the spring Bend" The flared" part- 26 permits the filter to be I easily inserted between the-arms; which yield outwardly, if necessary, to admit the filter. The projecting handle 29 does not absorb any of the ingredients of the smoke,

tar. to any objectionahle extent. Consequently, the'h'an dle rnakes a convenient; easily accessible and cleanly meanswith which" tomanipulate the filter andto' dispose of it, the automatic grip of the holdi'er' on the'filter making both into an easily handled unit in" which the filter is not likely'to" slip or to' become" displaced. As

seen in Eig; 6} the side portions of the: filter are uncompressed by' the holder thereby. at' least partly closing the longitudinal middle space between the; uncompressed portions" of the filter, through which unfiltered smoke might otherwise pass.

When used in the pipe 18', that 'end'ofthe filter carryi'ng the bend". passage 17 and pushedtliereinto as far as required, clear' of the space to be-occupied by, the sleeve35 of the mouthpiece 361 Since the diameter of the filter is preferably somewhat'greater thanthe diameter of the passage, the filter is slightly compressed as it enters the passage, especially. at the corners of the. prismwhen the filter is square in cross section. But such slight compression does notinterfere with the filtering actionof theexternalsurface of-the filter. The handle.29protrudesenoughfrom the. passage to permit it to be. easily grasped and is easily, withdrawn. When. itbecomes necessary to replace the. filter, itv slidesout easily the debris accumulated. thereon, because: of the soft texture. designed for the reception of a: relatively largefilter tube of the typesometimes usedin the-past, the filter 15: is relatively large in diameter and long to fill the greater part of. the passage-17= However, when-usedfor the-cigarette holder shown in Fig. 2, the filter is relatively. short, while'thehandle 29 is relatively long and easily accessible when the mouthpiece 33 and the filter held. thereby are removed as a unit from the cigarette holding part 38.

It'will now be seen that I have provided a'filter of suitable-foam plastic presenting a quite large filtering-area to' extractiharmful ingredients from tobacco smoke in smokers articles, that the filter need not be handled directly but is supplied with ametallic handle not likelyto be objectionably defiled: and which is easily accessible: and

makesit-easy to handle and-replace thefilter: and to disholder and spread and overhang the 24 of'the holder 22, is inserted into the without binding, with In cases where the: pipe passage has: beenpose of it when it becomes dirty, that the filter can be economically manufactured and assembled and that it adequately carries out the intended purposes of the invention.

While certain specific embodiments of the invention have herein been shown and described, various obvious changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention defined inthe appended claim.

I claim:

In combination, a filter inthe general form of a square prism and of soft elasticresilient and compressible foam material,.and a holder for the filter comprising a length of wire-of greater width than-thethicknessthereof and having a relatively;widefiat=face, saidwire being folded on itself to provide a pair of arms difiering in length and spread slightly apart with the flat face of the wire on the inside, the width of the filter being greater than that of the fiat face, the. filter being frictionally held between the flat faces o'f'the arms, said" arms being substantially straight" and" parallel, that" face of the length of wireoppo'site the flat faces' being convex to allow passage. only end of one arm being integrally join'edi' to the'correspondingadjacent end of the other arm by, albend', one end'ofthe filter being adjacent said bend, the filt'er extending from-said bend to' the free'end' portion" of" the shorter arm and h'aving'the longitudinal of filtered smoke, an

middle part' thereof at opposite sides of the surface thereof compressed from the initial'width thereof to a substantially lesser width equal to the space between the arms, the remaininguncompressed'parts of the filter ad jacent the opposite sides thereof inwardly overhanging.

the arms, the shorter arm terminatingjn a free end-portion fiaredoutwardly; and'the longer arm terminating. in r a free end handle portion reduced in width.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

